Nora could still feel the heat of his lips against hers the next morning.

That kiss…

She spent the rest of the night thinking of nothing else, and now, in the gray, rainy morning light, she still couldn’t stop thinking about it.

It wasn’t like she hadn’t had great kisses before.

Or maybe… it kind of was. Because that kiss?

It blew every other kiss she’d ever had—the ones she thought were epic or sweet or romantic—so out of the water she was wondering how she could even compare them.

Kissing him had been like finding something joyful and mischievous inside her for the first time in years. It had heated her up from the inside out, and it had taken every ladylike bone in her body to not climb that man like a tree, right then and there in the street. Her mind and body had been wild with desire, consumed with the thought of wrapping her legs around his strong, lean hips, pressing right up against his…

Down, girl, she told herself sternly, feeling a little hot under the collar. She pushed off her comforter, trying to cool down.

She reached for her phone, realizing it was much later than she thought. Still dazed from Luke’s kiss, she hadn’t even set her alarm last night. Holly had been asleep by the time she got in, so she still had to catch her roommate up on all the details of her date. Plus, Margaux would want to know everything.

Speaking of Margaux, there were two texts from her. And one from Luke.

Her heart in her throat—a text so soon had to be a good sign, right?—she tapped to open it.

Nora—

Thank you for such a great evening. I had an amazing time—it’s been awhile since I’ve laughed like that.

I know you’re probably busy with prepping to teach your photography students, but do you think you can spare some time to spend with me? Give me a call. I’d like to propose something maybe a little crazy.

She was instantly intrigued—and instantly tempted to give him a call right then. But she needed to play this cool. So she got up and fixed some coffee and avocado toast, sitting in the cozy living room, having her breakfast and leafing through the latest portraits she’d done. Her friend Alyce was a ballerina in San Francisco who had taken a leave of absence to have her baby. She’d asked Nora to do some pregnancy photos of her and her choreographer husband to celebrate this special time in their lives. They had turned out beautifully, the photos full of maternal power and grace, Alyce’s lush body artfully and tastefully draped with dark blue silk as she danced. She just had to finish touching up the lighting in the last few portraits before she sent them to the happy couple.

Everyone’s getting married and having babies, she thought, with just a touch of bittersweetness.

She had been telling the truth when she had told Margaux and Hunter she was grateful that Gregory had finally owned up to his cheating and called off the wedding. She was so grateful she wasn’t his wife right now, blissfully unaware of the cheating bomb that could be dropped on her life at any time.

But she had been looking forward to the next phase of her life. She was a person who was more about the marriage than the wedding. She had been looking forward to married life, to having a full, committed partner. A wonderful father to her children.

Now, she realized that marriage to Gregory wouldn’t have given her that, because her relationship with Gregory couldn’t even give her that. He was too selfish for those things even when they were just dating. How could she have expected vows of forever to change that?

It had been silly. Yet again she had chosen her heart over her head. And obviously, her heart was faulty when it came to picking the right man. Now it was time she chose with her head first.

Maybe Luke’s the right choice, that damned little voice said.

She had felt so comfortable with him from the start. She hardly ever had that experience with men. Her father’s infidelity had made her wary—and Gregory’s had made her question everything, because she hadn’t seen it coming. She’d dismissed every late night and every missed date, telling herself he was busy, that it was normal.

She’d been a fool, and she wouldn’t be again.

But Luke…

There was something about Luke Stone, a steadiness about him, that instantly soothed her. And there was a mischief to him that made her want to be a little reckless, a little wild, because she somehow knew he would catch her, always, if she fell.

Unable to stop herself, she brought Luke’s number up on her phone and pressed Call.

There were butterflies in her stomach as the phone rang a few times, and then his deep voice answered.

“This is Lucas Stone.”

“Hi, Luke, it’s Nora.”

“Hey, Nora,” his voice, if possible, grew even deeper, wrapping around her name like a velvet kiss. “I’m glad you called.”

“I wanted to thank you again for such a nice night,” she said. “I had a lot of fun, too.”

“I’m glad,” he said.

“And I must admit, I was a little intrigued by your text,” she continued.

“Oh yeah? That was definitely my aim,” he said with a laugh.

“So what’s this crazy thing you want to propose?”

“I know you’re all about the practical now,” he said. “What with your pro/con lists and your new leaf and all. But something you said during our walk kind of struck me.”

Her curiosity growing, she asked, “And what was that?’

“You said your grandmother believed in doing six impossible things before breakfast,” he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. She loved that she could actually hear it, how his voice changed just a little, just like how his eyes crinkled every time he smiled at dinner.

You’ve got it baaaaaadddd. You are in such trouble if you’re already memorizing his eye crinkles.

“She did,” Nora said, not knowing where he was going with this.

“You have a few weeks before your classes start, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then this is what I propose, Nora: Let me show you some impossible things. I can’t guarantee they’ll all be before breakfast, but I can guarantee they’ll be incredible. Spend some time with me. Maybe you’ll start dreaming again. Because a woman like you? Deserves to have her dreams come true.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest. It freaking fluttered. What he was offering was…

Romantic. Sweet. Thoughtful.

Impossible.

“I can wait for you to make that pro/con list,” he offered, and she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

“I really like your laugh, for the record,” he said, and wow, was he making it hard to say no.

She needed to say no, right? What did even showing her the impossible mean?

You’ll never know if you don’t let him show you.

“So… what do you say, Nora?” he asked.

She bit her lip. You’re supposed to be practical, she thought.

But maybe this was practicality. Maybe it was stupid to not take him up on his offer.

Maybe… just maybe… this could be something special. She thought about how he looked at her as she’d rambled a bit too long about photography the night before, how he’d never looked bored, but instead was hanging on her every word, asking her questions that showed her he’d actually thought about what she was saying.

She could use more of that. Being valued. Being listened to.

“I say yes,” she said.